


Sleepless Nights

by BloodWolf98



Category: Hazbin Hotel (Web Series)
Genre: Angel Dust Needs a Hug (Hazbin Hotel), Asexual Alastor (Hazbin Hotel), He just sucks, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Sexual Assault, M/M, Mentioned Fat Nuggets (Hazbin Hotel), Mentioned Valentino (Hazbin Hotel), Nightmares, Not literally, Protective Alastor (Hazbin Hotel), Sharing a Bed, Soft Alastor (Hazbin Hotel), Valentino is a cockroach
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-08
Updated: 2021-01-08
Packaged: 2021-03-18 16:48:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,743
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28621305
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BloodWolf98/pseuds/BloodWolf98
Summary: Angel Dust is having nightmares and Alastor is the only one he feels safe going to about it.TRIGGER WARNING: Angel is dealing with nightmares about sexual abuse relating to his job. Nothing is described graphically.
Relationships: Alastor & Angel Dust (Hazbin Hotel)
Comments: 11
Kudos: 102





	Sleepless Nights

**Author's Note:**

> TRIGGER WARNING: Angel is dealing with nightmares about sexual abuse relating to his job. Nothing is described graphically but the aftermath and its affect on him mentally are a big focus of this story. Please please if this a sensitive topic for you rather skip this one.
> 
> This is set sometime after the pilot. Enough time has passed that the hotel has a few more patrons and everyone's been able to interact with each other for a while.
> 
> Please forgive any instances where I've tried to incorporate Angel Dust's accent and it's made it difficult to read. Please let me know if there are any instances where you think it actually takes away from the experience and I'll fix it to make it more clear.
> 
> Thank you to [dude-trust-the-cloak](https://dude-trust-the-cloak.tumblr.com/) for your help with the title!

_The feeling of hands in his fur, sliding over his body._

_Someone was pulling his hair too hard._

_Another held his arms in a vice-like grip._

_Another gripped his jaw and forced him to look up._

_Another-_

_Another-_

Angel woke up with a scream. He looked around frantically before he realized he was just in his bed, in his room. He swore.

Fat Nuggets crawled out from under his bed with a worried snort. Angel sighed

“Aw baby, it’s okay.” He said guiltily, scooping the shaking animal up onto the bed and hugging him. “Daddy’s here. Daddy’s alright don’ worry.”

Angel sighed as he soothed the trembling pig in his arms. These nightmares were really getting out of control. He was barely sleeping at all most nights and he was just barely functioning during the day. Charlie was giving him worried looks, but she’d backed off whenever he’d assured her that he was fine. Angel suspected that that wouldn’t be the case for much longer.

Angel set the pig down on the bed, stifling a yawn. He was exhausted after many nights of disturbed sleep, but he just couldn’t face falling asleep again so soon. He didn’t want to scare Fat Nuggets again with his thrashing and screaming if he had another nightmare. And he would have another, Angel knew.

Maybe if he left the room and caught some z’s downstairs in the lobby the change in scenery would help? There were some comfortable couches set up down there… but no. He shuddered at the thought of sleeping somewhere as open –as _exposed_ – as the lobby. No, his room was safest, even though he didn’t _feel_ fucking safe having just woken up from a nightmare.

He lay down with a frustrated sigh. He wished Cherri was there; she’d been there for him in the aftermath of so many nightmares. She’d cuddle him tight-

_Hands in his fur_

She’d wipe away his tears and cup his cheek with a gentle smile-

_A hand grabbing his jaw and forcing him to look up_

Angel hugged both sets of arms around his chest, turning onto his side and burying his face into a pillow. No... On second thought maybe Cherri wasn’t such a good idea right now. He couldn’t handle the thought of anyone _touching_ him. The nightmares, the _memories_ were just too fresh. But the fact remained that he was terrified of going back to sleep and reliving them all over again.

He rolled back onto his back restlessly. The room felt stuffy –too small– like the walls were closing in. Angel felt his breathing quicken. Maybe he could go for a walk to calm down, just through the halls. He could stay close to the rooms with occupants… just to be safe.

Angel nodded to himself, decided, and stood up. He would go for a walk. He pet Fat Nuggets with a small smile. He pulled on a pair of sweatpants and a shirt. He wasn’t exactly expecting to run into anyone in his underwear, but the extra layers of clothing made him feel better so why the hell not? As he made his way to the door, Fat Nuggets gave a rather indignant oink from where he stood watching from Angel’s bed.

“Don’ worry sweetie,” Angel assured the pig gently. “Daddy’s jus’ goin’ fer a little walk, you stay here and go back te sleep.”

Fat Nuggets cocked his head at the spider demon, then complied and lay back down on the bed. Angel shut the door behind him.

......................................................................

There was something about walking around the hotel in the middle of the night when all the other occupants were asleep. There was a hush that had settled over the building for the night. A sort of spell that Angel felt he was somehow defying simply by being awake and walking around. He passed by various rooms that he knew were occupied, and was comforted by the fact that he could easily wake them up and alert them to his position with a simple yell… should the need arise.

He paused outside Charlie’s door. She’d probably be _overjoyed_ to have Angel come in and bare his soul to her… but that wasn’t really Angel’s thing. She’d probably be just as touchy-feely as Cherri, and the thought made his skin crawl. There were also some things about hell that Charlie just didn’t seem to get, and Angel wasn’t about to educate her.

Plus Vaggie would probably run him through with a spear if he woke them up at this hour. He chuckled half-heartedly at the thought despite himself, and kept walking.

Passing all these doors, he itched to knock on one of them, just one, and talk to _someone_. Angel felt very alone as he passed door after door, demon after demon. Maybe this walk wasn’t such a good idea…

He sighed to himself. It wasn’t as if there was even anyone in the building that he trusted half as much as he did Cherri. The next best thing was Charlie, and she was out. Husk would probably skin him if he woke him up with his sob story. Nifty… well Nifty would probably have a heart attack at his sloppy state of dress before he could even get a word out.

Angel let out a sigh. He really was alone out here tonight then. There was no one-

He came upon Alastor’s door and stopped in his tracks. He contemplated the door in front of him cautiously.

 _No,_ he told himself, _no no no!_ _Nothin’ doin’_. Alastor was in the “would skin Angel if awoken with his sob story” camp for sure.

Angel’s feet didn’t move. He stayed staring at the door.

Sure, Angel could think of Alastor as a sort of friend at this point… a pretty fucking _scary_ friend, but a friend. They had shared a few peaceful conversations during their time at the hotel. They’d both lived around the same time period –albeit different localities– so there were certain understandings and experiences that the two shared that none of the others could relate to…

Angel shook his head. He was _not_ about the run to the fucking _Radio Demon_ because he had had a _bad dream_. Angel wasn’t a child and Alastor wasn’t his mother. He willed his feet to move, to take him down another lonely hallway so that he could forget all about this nonsense.

But there was one thought that kept Angel rooted to the floor outside of Alastor’s bedroom door.

_Alastor wasn’t touchy-feely._

Alastor was, in fact, the _exact opposite_ of touchy-feely. He was also strong, and he had a certain personal distaste for _Valentino_ –and all that Val represented. Angel swallowed hard, staring at the door. Was he really going to do this?

Did he really have any other choice?

Angel steeled his nerves and raised his fist. He licked his lips nervously… and knocked on the door. He supposed that at least if Alastor killed him he wouldn’t have to live through another nightmare… silver lining and all that crap.

......................................................................

Alastor opened his door and cocked his head at the sight before him, ever-present smile plastered wide across his face.  
  
"Ah, Angel Dust," He greeted the spider demon. "To what do I owe the pleasure, my fine effeminate fellow?"  
  
Alastor's grin shrank slightly as he took in Angel's tired eyes and dishevelled appearance.  
  
"What happened?" He asked. His tone was more serious than his usual announcer voice. "Do I need to fetch Charlie?"

Angel grimaced.

"Nothin' happened, Smiles." Angel ran a hand through his hair nervously, his lower pair of arms crossed tightly against his chest.

Alastor squinted at him suspiciously, his grin frozen upon his face. Angel swallowed at the lump in his throat.

"I jus'...". Angel said hesitantly, "I'm havin' trouble sleepin' is all..."

Alastor’s brow furrowed, though the smile remained.

"Would it..." Angel stopped before trying again, "Could I...?"

Angel sighed, looking like he regretted knocking on Alastor's door in the first place. He steeled himself before asking.

"Can I sleep wit' ya tonight?"  
  
A loud record scratch sounded from the radio demon, echoing through the silent hallway. Alastor himself was doing a very good impression of a deer in the headlights as he stared at Angel with wide eyes.  
  
Angel covered his face with a groan.  
  
"Not like _that!_ " He said into his hands. "That's not what I meant."  
  
He sighed and lowered his hands, frowning at the floor. He looked back up at Alastor almost apologetically.  
  
"Look, Al, I'm sorry," Angel said, really sounding as though he meant it. "I'm bein' stupid... I'll jus' go."

Angel turned to leave, but before he could take a step he felt on hand on his shoulder. The sudden hand touching him made him tense up for a moment, but thankfully he didn't react more strongly than that. He turned back to Alastor who seemed to have recovered from his shock somewhat.

"Nonsense, my friend!" He said with his usual gusto, albeit coming out a bit forced, his smile turned all the way back up to eleven. He removed his hand from Angel’s shoulder almost immediately and Angel rolled the joint involuntarily to assuage the skin crawling sensation. Alastor didn’t seem to notice as he continued. "You're clearly in distress and I would be remiss if I were to turn you away."

Angel winced at the "in distress" description. While he supposed it was true, it also made him sound weak, and weak was a dangerous impression to give off in hell. Angel knew that fact very well after all of his time there.

For a moment, just a second or two at the most, Vaggie's original exposition about the radio demons power and the threat that he may pose sprang to mind. Maybe coming here in such a state was a mistake. But Angel dismissed these thoughts quickly; there was nowhere else he could go where he would feel this safe. Because whatever threat Alastor posed, there was one danger that Angel knew he was completely safe from here, and right now he needed that assurance.

So he allowed Alastor to usher him inside the room. He'd never been inside the radio demon's room before and he looked around curiously. As could be expected, it was done up in red and black like most of the hotel. It wasn’t very big, most of the floor space taken up by queen sized bed that was still made, the bedspread pristine and undisturbed. Angel felt a sense of relief that he hadn't disturbed the other's sleep, despite the late hour. There was an old fashioned wooden radio on one of the bedside tables and a comfy looking red armchair in one corner of the room. There was a closet and a closed door on the other side of the room that led to the bathroom.

Alastor walked across the room and sat down on the armchair. He gestured for Angel to take a seat on the bed. Once Angel acquiesced the radio demon fixed him with a curious look, leaning forward in his seat.

"Are you going to tell me what's wrong?" He asked.

Angel looked away, unsure how to answer, or if he even _wanted_ to answer the question.

The silence stretched between the two of them, the only sound in the room the static buzzing Alastor always emitted. Angel's already slumped posture was drooping, the low buzzing lulling him and the soft feeling of the bed beneath him beckoning him toward sleep.

After a few more moments passed and neither of them spoke, Alastor straightened up in his armchair and gave a shrug.

"Fair enough," he said simply, "I can't force you to talk... well... actually I can! But it would be bad manners toward an invited guest."

Alastor grinned at him and Angel blinked back at him tiredly, barely registering the blatant threat Alastor had just made and then immediately rescinded.

"Honestly, my dear," Alastor tutted, "You would look dead on your feet were you not, in fact, already literally dead and also not on your feet."

Angel huffed out a quiet chuckle.

"Go on," Alastor waved his hand at the bed Angel was sitting on, "get some rest. Then, maybe later you'll be up to chatting."

Angel nodded, standing up to draw back the covers. As he clambered into the bed, sinking his head onto one of the pillows and drawing the covers back up, he had just enough sense to turn his head and look sleepily at the radio demon. Alastor hadn't moved from his seat on the armchair.

"Aren’tcha gonna get some sleep?" Angel slurred tiredly, "'S pretty late, y'know."

"Don't you worry about me, I'm not tired," Alastor waved him off. "Now you get some rest."

Angel nodded slightly into the pillow, his eyes closing gratefully. He fell asleep almost immediately.

......................................................................

Angel awoke sometime later with a start. Damn these damn damned nightmares!

He rubbed his eyes tiredly with one set of hands while feeling around for his clock with one of his secondary arms. Maybe it wasn’t too close to morning and he could try to get some more shut eye. He was still really tired. Now where was that damn clock? Did he knock it to the floor while he was tossing and turning? Angel opened his eyes to aid in his search... and froze.

His eyes were still adjusting to the dark, but he could tell that this wasn't his room. Where was he? What was going on?! Was this something Val had arranged? Angel swallowed thickly... was this a client’s room? His chest felt tight. When had he stopped breathing?

"Angel?" A voice broke through his panicked thoughts. Angel jerked to look in the direction of the voice. His brain caught up to him in his panic, it was a voice that he recognized.  
  
Alastor.  
  
A light flickered on and illuminated the room. The radio demon was watching him from his seat on the armchair, his brow was furrowed again and his smile was the smallest that Angel had ever seen it.

Angel calmed instantly at the sight. Right, of course, he was in Alastor's room. He'd asked the other demon to let him sleep here. Nothing was going to happen to him here. Angel let out the breath he'd been holding and took another one slowly and deeply.

"Hey, Al," Angel tried for a nonchalant grin and hoped he succeeded. "H-how long was I out fer?"

Based on Alastors raised eyebrow, the "nonchalant grin" failed pretty spectacularly.

"Only about an hour," Alastor answered flatly, "maybe an hour and a half at most."

Angel slumped back onto the pillow. That was it? He'd hoped that he would be able to stay under for longer than that! He eyed the other from his position on the bed. Alastor hadn't moved from his place on the armchair.

"So... what?" Angel asked, "Ya jus' been sittin’ there in the dark this whole time?"

Alastor shrugged.

"I can see quite well in the dark,” He explained. “And having the lights on would hardly have been conducive to you sleeping."

"Ya jus' been watchin' me sleep?” Angel asked, unsure if he should feel creeped out or… no, creeped out was probably the correct response.

Alastor shifted in his seat, probably well aware of how creepy it seemed.

“You seemed distressed," He said awkwardly. "I wondered if I should expect any untoward visitors looking for you."

Angel wanted to snap that he wasn't hiding from anyone. That he wasn't "running to mommy" because some mean kids wanted to ruff him up. He so badly wanted to say those things. But wasn’t that, in essence, exactly what he was doing? Running away and hiding behind Alastor? He sighed.

"I'm not expectin' any visitors," He grumbled, "You don’t hafta stand guard all night."

Even if though the thought of Alastor standing guard _did_ make him feel safer. Even more so than just being in his room did.

"Ya' need te get some sleep yourself," Angel said.

"I'll sleep here tonight." Alastor assured him, not moving.

Angel rolled his eyes.

"That's not proper sleep" he said, "ya’ can’t even lay down on tha’ thing. This bed's huge an’ there’s a whole other half, we can each stay on our own side pretty easily."

"This will suffice for one night." Alastor answered stubbornly, crossing his arms and not moving from his seat.

Angel frowned.

"I'm not gonna... try anythin'" He said softly. "If that's what you're worried about."

Alastor’s posture stiffened minutely and Angel was sure he'd hit the nail on the head.

Angel sat up and moved the pillows behind him so that he could sit up straight with his back against the headboard. He crossed both sets of arms, mimicking Alastor’s posture.

"I'm not goin’ te sleep until you do," Angel declared. "I'm not gonna kick you out of yer own bed when there's plenty of room fer both of us!"

The two frowned at each other for a while, Angel stifling yawn after yawn but stubbornly refusing to back down.

Eventually Alastor rolled his eyes and stood up. Angel let out a sleepy cheer that quickly became another yawn.

"Honestly," Alastor grumbled, as he pulled back the covers on his side, "You are lucky that I would rather not be the one to tell Charlie that you died of sleep deprivation in the morning."

Angel grabbed his pillow and put it back behind him, settling back down.

"Yeah," He laughed, "You’d probably get a real talkin' to from her."  
  
Alastor chuckled quietly, climbing into bed and laying down on his back. He stared at the ceiling, unmoving and rigid. Angel could practically sense the tautness of the others’ muscles but knew there was nothing he could do to help the other relax.

It was kind of awkward, Angel had to admit. The surrealness of the situation had made him more alert, despite his tiredness. He hoped that sleep wouldn’t evade him for too long.

"You aren’t sleeping," Alastor broke the silence, "that wasn’t the deal."

Angel huffed out a small laugh.

"Sorry," he said. "'S just a little weird."

He didn’t elaborate. He didn’t need to. Alastor hummed in agreement.

Angel turned onto his side, facing away from Alastor, and closed his eyes. He willed his tiredness to take over and drag him back to sleep, despite the awkward situation. But his mind refused to calm down.

Alastor was obviously uncomfortable with sharing his bed with Angel. Of course he was! He was probably uncomfortable with the idea of sharing his bed with _anyone_ , let alone hell’s hottest slut. Should he just go? Maybe he should just go. Would Alastor let him leave without a fuss? Would the radio demon question him about this in the morning? Maybe it was better to just stay put. Maybe he could fake that he was sleeping?

Angel shook his head sharply in a futile attempt to put an end to the irritating thoughts.

"Still awake?" Alastor asked, from his side of the bed.

"Yeah..." Angel answered sheepishly.

"If sleep is evading you, perhaps you'd like to have that talk now?"

Angel tensed. He still wasn't sure what to say to Alastor. Still, he'd put the radio demon through a lot of trouble in these last few hours, he supposed he could try to sate the other’s curiosity at least.

Angel rolled back over to look at Alastor. The other was still lying on his back, looking at the ceiling. He didn’t look the least bit tired, despite how late it was. Angel settled down on his back as well, one set of arms pillowing his head.

"Alright," Angel agreed, trying to calm his nerves. "Shoot."

"Hmm," Alastor hummed, thinking, "Well the obvious question of "what is the matter?" is one that I've already asked... but you seemed to have difficulty with that one..."

Angel didn’t offer up an answer this time either. He kept his gaze on the ceiling and said nothing. Alastor continued.

"So, I suppose the next obvious question," Alastor continued, "Is why you are here? If you were upset or worried why seek _me_ out over Charlie or someone else?"

Angel tried to swallow the lump in his throat, but it wouldn’t budge.

It was a fair question. An obvious question just as Al had said, the radio demon didn’t exactly exude that comforting and understanding energy that Charlie did.

"Hmmm…" Alastor hummed when Angel didn't speak, "Well if you can't say, let me see if I can guess!"

Angel smirked despite himself. Leave it to Alastor to find some entertainment in the situation.

"You're obviously having nightmares," Alastor stated, "which is why you can’t sleep... is it that I'm scarier than whatever monster you're dreaming might get you and you're hoping I'll be able to scare it away? If that is indeed the case I don’t see the logic in fleeing one monster just to end up in the lair of a worse one.”

Angel laughed, rolling over to face the other. The radio demon turned his head to face him, quirking an eyebrow at him.

"You're pretty scary, don't get me wrong Al," Angel said, "But you're pretty much the polar opposite of my nightmares."

Alastor was quiet for a moment as he considered this.

"That doesn’t really help me, actually."

"Oh no!" Angel lamented sarcastically, "Does tha’ mean yer done guessin'?"

"After just one try? Have you even met me, Angel? No no my dear, this hasn't even gotten interesting yet!"

Angel rolled his eyes. _Oh yeah, so fucking interesting._

Alastor was silent as he stared back up at the ceiling and contemplated the puzzle before him.

"Are you having issues relating to... your work?"

Angel tensed up involuntarily.

"Ah-hah!" Alastor cried out triumphantly pointing at him, but then grew more subdued and turned back toward the ceiling. "Actually, I'm not really sure I want to know what the problem is then..."

Angel would have smirked if he found it at all funny.

"That still doesn't explain why you came to _my_ room." Alastor mused, half to himself.

Despite his reluctance at the subject, Angel could still sense the burning curiosity coming off the radio demon in waves. He sighed.

How could he put it into words that he felt comfortable sharing and that Alastor would understand?

"Remember tha’ meeting Charlie had with all of us about her plan for Pride?" Angel asked hesitantly.

Alastor flicked his eyes to look at Angel, and then focused back up at the ceiling. He nodded.

"An' Vaggie taught us about some of the newer terms that are used now in the livin' world since the both of us bit it..."

Another nod. Alastor's smile was tight as he fixed his gaze on the ceiling, as if a more simple and straightforward answer was written up there and he just had to look hard in order to find it.

"Remember what we figured out? About… you?" Angel prompted, treading carefully.

"Yes, alright, I'm Asexual," Alastor ground out impatiently, still not looking at him. "What does that have to do with-"

"It means that I don't hafta worry about you... tryin' anythin'." Angel blurted out.

A loud radio static shriek suddenly broke the relative quiet of the room, making Angel wince at the noise. Alastor's already tense body was now frozen solid, not a single muscle moving. Once the ringing in Angel's ears faded he realised that the room was completely silent, even the low static buzzing had cut out for the moment.

Slowly, excruciatingly slowly, Alastor turned his head to look at Angel. Angel almost expected to hear his neck muscles creak they seemed under so much strain. The eyes that landed on Angel were dials, and when Alastor spoke, the radio static that usually accompanied his voice was completely gone. The tone was low, lower than his usual showmanship allowed, and dangerous.

"What?"

With just that single word, Angel could 100% believe everything Vaggie had told him about the Radio Demon. Just that single syllable struck so much instinctual terror in Angel. He sat up without even thinking about it, scooting a few inches away from Alastor.

Alastor twitched at the movement and, with what looked like incredible effort, closed his eyes and took a deep breath, sitting up and angling himself slightly away from the other. Angel sat frozen as Alastor took one, two, three calming breaths, letting them out slowly with almost a hissing sound. The static crackle slowly permeated the room once more. Alastor turned and rested his back against the headboard. Thankfully his eyes were back to normal and his smile, while still awfully tight, looked substantially less deadly.

"My apologies," Alastor said, his voice also back to normal, "I didn’t mean to frighten you."

Angel's knee jerk reaction to scoff at the suggestion that he'd been frightened died in his throat. He _had_ been frightened; he'd been pretty fucking _scared_ , in fact. But the adrenaline –or whatever hellish equivalent he had– was quickly fading, and he knew that the anger Alastor had just displayed wasn't aimed at him, not really. Maybe later, much later, he might even work his way to being touched by Alastor’s reaction. For now he managed a non-committal shrug in response to Alastor's apology, which he personally counted as a Herculean feat, while keeping his gaze on the armchair in the corner.

"Who?" Alastor asked.

Another shrug from Angel. Because what could he really saying in response to that question?

Clients? Sure, they did what they wanted to him, but that was his _job_. If they were paying who was he to say "no"?

Val? That asshole _owned_ him. What could he do in that position?

He could feel Alastor's disapproval at his lack of response.

"You said it was related to work..." Alastor mused. Angel saw him tense up out of the corner of his eye.

" _Valentino,_ " Alastor spat the name out like a slur, "That cockroach."

Angel curled in on himself, bringing his knees up to his chest and hugging them with both set of arms.

"Angel, dear..." Alastor started but he trailed off, unsure of what to say.

"See why I didn't go te Charlie?" Angel mumbled his attention still on the couch. "It would break the poor bitch's heart, I'm not even sure she knows something like that can happen, even if she _did_ grow up in hell."

Angel hugged his knees tighter. His chest was feeling tight again with emotions that he tried his best to fight back down.

"Even if I could tell her, if she wasn’t so soft, I still couldn't go te her," Angel continued, now that he'd started talking he found more words fighting to get out, like a chip in a dam wall that was now gushing water. "She's so... _touchy_ and... _clingy_... I can't deal with that right now..."

Alastor didn't say anything in response but Angel knew he was listening.

"Even my gal pal, Cherri," Angel said guilty, "She's seen me at my lowest, down in the dirt an' punched even lower. I trust her more than anyone I've ever known, livin' or dead. She's been there for me so many times. But her first order 'o business would be te _hug_ me, or te... te _take my hand_ and tell me it'll be alright!"

Angel shuddered at the thought, unaware that the volume of his voice had climbed a few notches as he spoke, quickly working nearly a yell.

"And I _can't!_ I just can't handle that right now, even from her! Not from _her_ , not from _Charlie_ , not from _anyone!_ "

Angel had worked his way nearly to shouting by the end of his speech. He was breathing heavily after that sudden release. He scrubbed his face with one of his hands to get rid of some wayward tears.

There was a rustling on the other side of the bed and he uncovered his face to see Alastor holding out a handkerchief. Angel took it with a quiet thank you and blotted his eyes with it. Alastor gave him a long hard look, the hand he'd used to offer the handkerchief still raised. He slowly moved it toward Angel's shoulder, but Angel raised his own hand to stop him.

"Al, ya don't hafta..." Angel shook his head, and brought his hand back to hug his knees, "I know ya don't like touchin'"

"Would it help?" The radio demon asked, hand still raised.

Angel said nothing.

“I can… tolerate touch as long as I'm the one initiating it."

Alastor slowly and deliberately moved closer to Angel, giving the other every opportunity to move away. Angel didn't move as Alastor sat down next to him, much closer than before but still leaving a few inches of distance between them. He raised his hand and gave Angel two solid pats on the shoulder

"There there!" He declared dramatically, grinning at Angel.

Angel laughed at the sudden absurd attempt at humour from the other. It was a good hard laugh that was startled out of him. He laughed for a little while, a few tears coming to his eyes, until the laugher died down and the tears kept coming and all at once he was just crying. He buried his face in his knees and keened softly, sobs wracking his body.

Through the haze of anger and grief and shame that hung over him as he sobbed, he was acutely aware of a hand on his shoulder, then that same hand moving to rub his back, and then an awkward arm around his shoulders pulling him closer to a tense body. He leaned into the touch and the body relaxed somewhat. Through the sound of his own sobs in his ears he could hear Alastor's voice speaking softly, but he only caught the odd word. He made out his name, "alright", "safe". He stopped listening so carefully when he made out "Valentino" through all the static, and focused instead on the voice itself and the low buzzing.

Eventually the sobs calmed enough for him straighten back up, the arm around him loosening to allow the movement. He blotted his face again with Alastor's handkerchief. The radio demon's arm was still slung loosely around his shoulders, but he made no move to remove it. Alastor was looking at him with thinly veiled concern; his smile had been reduced to a mere showing of teeth.

Angel leaned slightly into the other's side, painfully aware that he was testing his luck, as he took deep breaths and tried to get over the last spasmings of his diaphragm. To his surprise Alastor tightened his arm around Angel's shoulders and pulled his closer against his side in a sort of pseudo-hug. Angel revelled in the closeness for a moment before resolving to take a real risk. He looked at Alastor in the eye, about to ask-

Alastor leaned back from him, and Angel felt something inside him fracture. But then Alastor shifted so that he was facing Angel full on. Angel's mouth fell open when Alastor held his arms out, a clear invitation for a proper hug.

Angel's shock lasted just a few seconds before he tackled the radio demon. He wrapped his arms around the other's thin torso and he put his head on Al's shoulder. He could feel Alastor's muscles tense against his body and he worried that he'd pushed the other too far. But then arms wrapped around his back and Alastor began to relax somewhat. Alastor rubbed Angel's back with one hand and Angel wisely didn't return the favour, holding as still as he could to ease the others discomfort.

Angel wasn’t sure how long they stayed that way before another yawn forced its way from his throat. He felt Alastor’s answering chuckle rumble in his chest.

“There are still a few hours until Charlie will notice our absence, my dear.” Alastor said softly. “You should try and get some more rest.”

Angel tightened his hold around the radio demon in answer. He didn’t want to let go, didn’t want this feeling of comfort and safety to end.

Alastor sighed good-naturedly.

“Here,” He said, laying down and coaxing Angel to follow. He turned over to face the other and shifted him down the bed a little.

Angel lay curled up facing Alastor with his head pressed against the radio demon’s chest. Said radio demon placed his arms protectively around the taller demon’s back.

With their size difference it probably looked rather odd, but Angel wasn’t complaining. He brought his upper set of arms around Alastor’s back, the lower set wrapped around his own torso.

Angel closed his eyes and willed himself to fall asleep. For a while nothing happened, and he began to fidget in frustration.

He flinched when he felt a hand card through his hair. He opened his eyes for a moment to ascertain that it was still Alastor holding him, before closing them once more and focusing on the sensation. The radio demon continued his ministrations, humming softly.

Angel didn’t recognize the tune from anywhere. Maybe an old jazz song that he wasn’t familiar with? Maybe Alastor had just made it up. All Angel knew was that it was relaxing to him. He focused on the feeling of safety having Alastor near, the feeling of a gentle hand carding through his hair and the soft humming.

Angel fell asleep.

He stayed asleep for a few hours before waking up gradually – _peacefully_ – to the sound of soft breathing by his ear and warm arms on his back.

He tensed instinctually, before the events of last night –or a few hours ago– came rushing back to him and he relaxed. He craned his head slowly and carefully before Alastor’s face came into view.

Alastor looked so unguarded when he was asleep. There wasn’t a trace of his manic personality, not a hint of slyness in his features. His face was completely relaxed, with just the barest upturn of the corners of his mouth to remind you whose face it was you were looking at.

Angel took in the view for a few moments, before decided he could stand to catch just a few more z’s before Charlie began searching for them. He settled back down and smiled when Alastor’s arms automatically tightened around him securely.

Within moments he was fast asleep once more.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it. I've been sitting on this little fic for a while after the idea popped into my mind that Angel might trust Alastor or seek out his company more because the radio demon is asexual and therefore he wouldn't need to worry about him (in that regard at least). I might add a second chapter where Alastor goes after Valentino in the future.
> 
> Disclaimer: I am not implying that asexual people don't have sex at all. I myself am asexual and know that that is an annoying assumption that people tend to make. But we all watched the pilot and Alastor does not strike me, personally, as an asexual that has sex.
> 
> Edited to add: I think that I deleted someone's comment while trying to reply to it. If I did I'm so so sorry!


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